....even more Firefly

There are a couple of intriguing issues that are suggested
but were never dealt with directly before the TV series was
cancelled which the "Serenity" movie also alludes to.

It is never explicitly stated just how long Alliance citizens
live, although the Firefly/Serenity wiki gives a life
expectancy of 120 years. This is important because the
Shepherd Book character had a largely unknown but much
different other life where he would have the opportunity
to know much about the workings of unsavoury characters
like Adeleid Niska [sic] and Alliance black operations.

The life of the Operative character and the descriptions
of Companion training, as well as the experiences of
River Tam, implie that it may be common for individuals
to be trained for elite roles from a fairly young age,
before they know the ways of the world.

This is again suggested in the apparent youthfulness
of the Alliance Colonel in 'Train Job'. Maybe certain
qualified individuals are selected for Officer training,
i.e. for a post in the Navy, if male and Companion
training if female? Perhaps the real aim is to train
suitable 'Operative' candidates and the Officer etc
candidates are the vast majority who drop out?

Of course, there are female Officers but they could
have been promoted through the ranks(i.e.:
Marshal [or Enlisted Man] to Corporal to Sergeant to
Ensign to Lieutenant etc). Promotion for Officers
could be dependent on completion of a mission or
a tour of patrol duty so some officers could be
fast-tracked to Colonel in this way.

It could also be that some Alliance citizens have
access to anti-aging technology, which may explain
the Alliance Colonel, as well as the apparent youth
of the Inara character and the doctors in 'Ariel'.

As well as the issues above, it is never revealed
what both Book and Inara are running from.